Environment

Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have found elevated levels of arsenic and other heavy metals in private drinking water wells near natural gas wells in North Texas’ Barnett Shale. The scientists analyzed samples from 100 wells, both inside and outside of the Barnett Shale.

In hindsight, perhaps Greg LaMantia, a scion of a South Texas family who made its fortune as a regional Budweiser distributor, shouldn’t have named his 5,000-acre spread near Wimberley “Needmore Ranch.”

While rain slicked the streets of Austin, lawmakers heatedly debated legislation that would use $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to fund the state water plan, an increasingly urgent issue for lawmakers. But, after hours of stop-and-go debate, a procedural error derailed the legislation.

“Texas has already recognized that instream flows are extremely important; the whooping crane is just a measuring stick for how well we’re doing,” says Amy Hardberger, a water law professor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. “Apparently we’re not doing very well.”